Whatever it Takes
by LittleReporterGirl
Summary: Set around the end of season 7...a lovely bit of fluff concerning, of course, Gibbs and Abby...


**Author's Note**: Well here is another little lovely Gabby Oneshot for you guys. Hopefully this one will be better than the last. I just stayed up til 6 a.m. to finish it, so hopefully it's actually good and I don't just think that cuz I'm sleep-deprived. _Anyways _this is set around the end of the 7th season and starts out when Gibbs is riding back from Mexico on the plane with Tony and Ziva. I've still only seen the 1st episode of season 8 (I'm currently purchasing the others on iTunes, one by one) so we won't go past there for now…but who knows, I may expand on this story or right a few more Oneshots. Only time will tell.

Hope y'all enjoy!

~LilReporterGirl

The entire ride from Mexico back to Washington D.C., Gibbs found himself thinking of Abby. Not of Franks, how he might be dead, or of Alejandro and Paloma. Not of the threat to his own life…but of the threat to hers. He thought of the last time he'd seen her. He had told her just to do her job and he had kissed her forehead, like he sometimes did. He wished now that he had done so much more than that. He wanted so badly to put his arms around her, to know that she was safe.

He was silent for the most part, pretending to be asleep for most of the flight so that Tony and Ziva would not question him. He continued to worry about Abby. Alejandro said they had not received her report on the cold case, but Gibbs had told her to send it in. She would have sent it in, he knew that. She did whatever he told her to, she trusted him. So what happened to the report?

Alejandro and his sister would think that Abby had the report, that she had never turned it in at all. Because she knew what the results meant, she knew the truth, a truth she didn't want to know, shouldn't have to know. And now she was in danger…because of him. He was wracked with guilt. It was all he could do not to pull out his cell phone and call her lab then and there, just to hear her voice, to know that she was alright. He planned to hire an armed guard to protect her, as soon as he got home, before he did anything else. As soon as he was away from the rest of the team…

When the plane landed, Gibbs hurried off. Tony and Ziva hurried after him.

"Where are you going boss?" Tony called.

"Home," he said gruffly. "Shower. Change."

Tony gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything. Gibbs turned away from them and headed for the street to find a taxi.

He called and had an armed guard assigned to Abby while he was still in the taxi. When he got home, he took a long, hot shower. He stood under the spray until there was no hot water left, trying to wash away all the dirt as well as the guilt he felt. Once he was dressed he called his father and asked him to stay somewhere for a few days, just to be on the safe side.

He knew he needed to go to the office and talk to Director Vance. A more attractive reason to go would be to see Abby… but he was tired and his head hurt. He wanted to take a nap, but there wasn't time for that. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, not while the threat of danger still hung in the air. He took the time to clean his gun, which served to help clear his mind as well as clean away Alejandro's fingerprints.

When he finally went to the office, it was dark out. He wanted to go down to Abby's lab and see her. He had sent Mike Franks' finger to her via Tony because he knew she would be able to tell him something. If Franks was alive when his finger was severed- if it _was _Franks' finger…

Tony and Ziva were hunched over Tony's computer, hard at work, when he came out of the elevator. Tony stammered something that he barely heard, then said the director wanted to see him as soon as possible. Well he already knew that. He looked up and saw Vance standing against the rail, watching him. He sighed inaudibly and headed upstairs.

When he left Vance's office a short while later he got on the elevator and headed down to the lab. When he stepped out of the elevator, she was standing at her computer, her back to him. The armed guard, Darren, stood by the door so he couldn't even stop to watch her. Still, he felt a part of him relax, just seeing her. She turned around when he entered the room, but she didn't smile like she usually did. Before she even spoke he could tell she was upset. Her eyes were bloodshot; her hair looked as if it had not been brushed. She looked exhausted.

"Gibbs," she said, her voice sounding dull. "Have you met Darren? Darren's an armed security guard who's been reassigned to guard me…although I have no idea why that might be."

He glanced at Darren and gave him a nod. Darren nodded back and left the room.

"…Except when I look at you," Abby continued. "I know exactly why."

"Abby- I'm sorry," he said.

And he meant it. Even though it was one of his own rules, rule number 6- never say you're sorry, it's a sign of weakness. Well, she had that affect on him…

"Gibbs! Why would you say that to me? It terrifies me when you break your own rules," she said, wagging her finger at him. "…You see what I'm doing there? Wagging my finger to stop you from talking? That's something that Mike Franks is probably never gonna be able to do again."

"It is his finger, right?" he asked, feeling a fresh surge of guilt. Guilt that he had let this happen to Mike…guilt that he had let thoughts of Abby distract him from the issue at hand.

"Right index to be specific," she said with a nod. "Also known as the forefinger, the digitus secondus, the pointer finger, the trigger finger-" she made a pulling the trigger motion with her finger "-that's something else Mike Franks will never be able to do again."

"He was alive when it was severed though?" Gibbs asked.

"Ducky thinks so. I mean, it was shot off, for whatever it's worth. Gibbs…do they have him? Do they have Mike?"

Her blatant concern and worry for his friend touched him. He stepped forward and hugged her, pressing his face into her hair. She just stood there.

"Can you at least tell me who 'they' are?" she asked. He did not answer, but kissed her face, below her ear. He inhaled deeply, then released her and turned and left the room. He motioned for Darren, who was standing by the elevator, to go back into the lab.

Once he was in the elevator, Gibbs pressed the button to go up, then shut down the elevator. He needed a minute to think. He had hugged her and kissed her…and to him, it felt different than it ever had before. Less like a friendly thing and more like a tense…attraction sort of thing.

But she hadn't responded. She just stood there. Of course, it could have been that she was tired. Tired and worried about Mike Franks. Like he was.

Back to the more pressing matter at hand. Franks was alive. Or at least, he had been alive when they'd shot his finger off…which in retrospect, didn't mean a whole lot. A fatal shot could have been delivered _after _his finger was shot off. He couldn't think like that, though. He had to trust Mike's instincts.

Gibbs slammed his fist into the wall of the elevator, hoping it would make him feel better. It didn't. He sighed and pressed the power button on the elevator.

Abby stared at her computer after Gibbs left, her eyes unfocused, not looking at the screen. She was worried. She was worried about Mike Franks, about whether he was okay, whether he was alive. And she was worried about Gibbs. He looked like he hadn't slept in ages- but neither had she. She worried that his plan, whatever it was, she was certain he had one, would backfire and that somehow he would go down for killing Pedro Hernandez.

She was still torn about that. She had never seen Gibbs as a killer. Sure he _had _killed, in the Marines and for NCIS. But he had totally gone rogue on this one, shot this guy in the middle of the Mexican desert, with a sniper rifle. He had _assassinated _him. Hernandez hadn't even seen it coming, had a chance to defend himself. That wasn't how Gibbs- _her _Gibbs- did things.

Of course it had been 20 years ago. And the killing wasn't unfounded. Hernandez had murdered Shannon and Kelley. Of course she didn't blame Gibbs! That was his family. What would she had done, if it had been her family? If it had been Gibbs?

Abby suddenly felt as if someone were watching her and she realized that Darren was standing there.

"I'm going- in my office- for a while," Abby said to him. "I need some 'me' time."

He nodded briefly, then resumed his impassive stance.

Abby went into her office and turned her music up loud. She collapsed into her chair and let her train of thoughts continue. Gibbs- while being annoyingly withholding information- had hugged her. And kissed her. And this time it felt different to her…but she found herself thinking that maybe it was just her. Maybe he was just trying to reassure her, comfort her…make her stop asking questions. She had been so surprised and still so worried and slightly annoyed that she hadn't responded at all.

Maybe she was just sleep deprived. That had to be it. She hadn't slept in ages, she had been too worried, and the lack of sleep was making her think things that weren't real, based on her wishful thinking.

When she went home that evening Darren went with her, which felt really weird. She paused in her living room.

"You could…crash on the couch?" she said awkwardly.

"No ma'am. I'll wait here until the others come."

"Others?"

"A guard will be posted outside your house tonight. I'll be back bright and early in the morning and be with you all during the day tomorrow."

"Whoopee," she said unenthusiastically.

Darren sort-of smiled.

"Orders," he said with a shrug.

"Right…I'm going to take a shower and go to bed now."

"Yes ma'am."

She left Darren standing by the front door and made her way to the bathroom. She undressed and stepped under the hot spray of water. She stood there for a long time, feeling as if she would fall asleep standing up. She made herself wash her hair, rinse it, and get out of the shower. She brushed her hair, dressed in her red and black plaid pajamas, and went to her room.

She crawled into her coffin bed, squeezing Bert the Hippo to her chest, and lay there…and lay there…and lay there…. She sighed, frustrated. She had felt so tired before- well she was _tired, _she just wasn't _sleepy_. She was still worried about Gibbs. She worried so much she _ached_. Her stomach hurt. When she'd first figured out what Gibbs had done, when he had been refusing to talk to her, when she didn't know what she was supposed to do, she had literally been sick. She hadn't been able to eat anything and had vomited several times a day.

She wondered what Gibbs was doing now. Was he at home, asleep? Was he lying awake, thinking, planning? Or was he out somewhere, on some mysterious, secret Gibbs assignment? Doing something dangerous? She squeezed Bert the Hippo, making him fart, which usually made her feel better. This time it didn't.

After lying there for over an hour, she couldn't take it anymore. She got up, taking Bert with her, and put on her skull-print bedroom shoes. Without really thinking, she grabbed her keys from the table by the door- Darren was nowhere to be found- and headed outside.

It was past midnight when Gibbs' phone rang. He hadn't been able to sleep and had already gotten a call from Alejandro telling him to meet him in the morning. So he was down in his basement, working on his boat, smoothly running sandpaper over wood when the jarring ring interrupted his thoughts. He grabbed it on the second ring.

"Yeah?" he said, somewhat annoyed.

"Sir, Miss Sciuto is leaving her house," said an agent whose name he couldn't remember- was it James or Jack? He _really _needed to get some sleep.

"Where is she going?" he asked, frowning.

"I'm not sure, sir. We're following her down the highway…" the agent replied and a few moments later added, "She's turning onto Jackson Street."

_Here_? He thought to himself. She's coming here?

"It's okay- I know where she's going. You can leave her."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes I'm sure! I'll take it from here," he said and snapped the phone shut.

He stood there for a minute, then continued working on his boat. She knew where to find him.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the door opened and Abby tiptoed down the stairs. He paused to look up at her and smiled at what he saw. She was wearing plaid flannel pajamas, her hair was loose about her shoulders and slightly damp, and she was clutching her stuffed hippopotamus, Bert. She had a deer-in-the-headlights look like she wasn't sure what she was doing there.

"Are you okay, Abs?" he asked softly.

"Hm? Who, me? Yep, I'm fine," she said.

"…What are you doing here, Abby?"

"Oh…I came to check on you."

"Me?"

"Uh-huh. …Why are you working on your boat, Gibbs, it's like 3 a.m. You should be asleep."

"Couldn't sleep."

"I couldn't sleep either…too much _stuff _running around in my head, you know what I mean?"

"I know _exactly _what you mean," he said. "…Do you want to stay here?"

It wasn't that unusual. She had stayed over several times before, slept in the guest room.

"Well…yeah," she said, looking at the floor. He smiled a little.

"Come on, Abs," he said, leaving the boat and leading her upstairs. "I think we both need the sleep."

He led her to the guest room and Abby flopped down on the bed. She got snuggled in and squeezed the hippopotamus, making it fart. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Better?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Goodnight, Gibbs."

"'Night, Abs," he said quietly.

Gibbs went into his own room and kicked off his shoes. He traded his khaki pants for gym shorts and climbed into bed, finally feeling the strain of his mental and physical exhaustion. He lay there in the dark, his eyes closed. He tried to focus on steady breathing and not thinking of anything. Or at least _trying _not to think of anything- especially trying not to think of Abby in the next room.

Perhaps a half hour had passed and Gibbs was right on the edge of sleep, dipping in and out of that deep semi-conscious state. He sensed a sudden presence by his bed and opened his eyes in time for Abby to slip into bed next to him.

"Abby?" he said, disoriented.

"I couldn't sleep… I didn't feel safe…"

"You're safe, Abs. If anyone came in, I would know it," he murmured, still half-asleep.

"No offense, Gibbs, but you didn't wake up when I came in," she said. She sounded like she was smiling. She had a point.

"…Do you feel safe in here?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, Gibbs, of course."

"Then that's all that matters," he said. "Whatever it takes."

He shifted to allow her some of the covers, then turned on his side, facing away from her. Now he had to focus on keeping his breathing even for another reason. He couldn't help the fact that his heart was pounding in his chest.

About fifteen minutes passed and his heart had finally slowed to normal when she spoke his name.

"Gibbs?" she said softly, barely audible. He thought about not responding. What was she going to say?

"…Yeah, Abs?"

"I'm sorry…"

She sounded like she might be going to cry. He rolled over and pulled her to him.

"No Abs, _I'm _sorry. Sorry for…I'm just sorry," he said and kissed her cheek. He found her face was wet- she _was _crying and another tear slid down her face at his words.

Abby snuggled against him, burying her face in his chest. She was trembling slightly. He put his arms around her and held her until she stopped crying. Then he just held her, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Gibbs," she said, her voice muffled against his chest. "…You smell like sawdust."

He chuckled quietly.

"Don't get me wrong," she said. "I like it."

He moved his head to look down at her…and she took the opportunity to kiss him along his jaw line. His breath caught in his throat and for a moment he just lay there. Then she pressed a gentle, tentative kiss on his lips.

"Abs-" he said and she kissed him again. He felt his resolve weaken against her impossibly soft lips. Slowly, he opened his mouth. She traced his parted lips with her tongue. He couldn't stand it. He flicked his tongue out to taste her lips and groaned softly at the taste that was so purely Abby.

Their kisses continued and he unconsciously slid his hands down to her hips. Her hands were resting somewhere between his chest and his stomach. Slowly she slipped her leg between his legs, pressing against his obvious arousal.

"Abby, I-" he began, but she pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shh. Don't say anything, Gibbs. …Don't say no…" she said, her voice soft and pleading. He let out another groan. Of course he couldn't say no to her… He wanted this so badly, though he could think of a million reasons not to do it. …But if she wanted it…

Abby couldn't believe it. Somehow she had gotten to Gibbs' bed, somehow they had started kissing, and somehow they had started removing each others clothes. Each newly exposed patch of skin Gibbs met with soft, gentle kisses. Each time he discovered a new tattoo, he traced it with his tongue, making her shiver with delight. She wasn't used to this. She wasn't used to having someone be so gentle with her. She was used to being nipped and bitten…among other things. But Gibbs was gentle and sweet…and no one had ever made her feel like he made her feel. She had never burned for someone like this before, never ached for someone so badly…

He used his tongue to trace the large cross tattoo on her back, at the same time trailing his fingers lightly across her abdomen. She squirmed and moaned as he got close to where she so desperately wanted him to be. She felt him smile against her skin, then he trailed kisses around to her navel, and finally, kissed her _there_.

"G-Gibbs!" she gasped.

"What? You want me to stop?" he asked somewhat teasingly.

"Don't you dare!"

He chuckled and continued kissing and licking until she thought she would die. Finally she made him stop and pulled him up to kiss him again, tasting herself on his lips. She pushed him back on the bed, still kissing him, and pressed her hips hard against him. She took him in her hands, impressed by how large he was, and slowly lowered herself onto his shaft. He entered her completely, causing that ache between her legs to spread even farther through her body, making her cheeks flush and the oxygen go out of her brain. She felt like she was about to split in two when he slid into her, stretching her, filling her. And he groaned as he was completely inside her, his eyelids fluttering shut, pure lust on his face.

In one quick movement he flipped her on her back, still inside of her. He slid out, then back in, hitting that right spot inside her that made all her thoughts go blurry. She let out a soft whimper.

"Oh..." she said, wrapping her legs around him. "Gibbs…"

She could feel her muscles clenching around him and knew she was close. He looked up at her, his breathing quick and uneven. Her pale skin was flushed and bright, faint moist breaking on her skin from sweat, messy hair and closed eyes, which she fought hard to keep open, to gauge his face. She felt the pressure build inside of her and grabbed his shoulders for leverage. She let out a cry as her orgasm hit her fast. Her muscle contracted around him and he let out a groan as he came inside of her.

He collapsed beside her on the bed, taking her in his arms and kissing her again. They lay there, both breathing heavily, hearts pounding, not daring to believe what had just happened.

"…Are you okay?" Gibbs asked once they had both recovered.

"Better than okay," she replied, smiling.

"Think you can sleep now?"

"Mmhm…"

She felt so comfortable and warm snuggled up next to him, their naked bodies pressed together. She felt like she could sleep forever…but she still wanted to know one thing…and maybe _now _he would tell her.

"I still want to know one thing," she asked after a minute.

"Hm?"

"…What are you going to do about Mike Franks…and the other thing?" she asked, sounding worried. He sighed and kissed her.

"Whatever it takes, Abs," he said. "Whatever it takes."


End file.
